By Sandra Kenneth
Heavy security deployment was witnessed around the Ministry of Defence in Abuja on Wednesday morning ahead of a scheduled protest by military retirees demanding the implementation of consequential pension adjustments.
A heavy joint security presence was observed around the venue as early as 8:00 AM, comprising personnel from the Nigeria Police Force, the Nigerian Army, the Nigeria Immigration Service, and Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIO). Armed military personnel and other security operatives took up strategic positions along major access roads leading to the ministry, supported by at least two armoured personnel carriers and over 15 operational vehicles stationed to manage movement in the area.
Despite the heavy security operations, the planned demonstration had not yet officially commenced at the time of reporting.
The demonstration stems from grievances over the non-implementation of pension adjustments following recent salary increases granted to serving military officers. Speaking on behalf of the group, retired Colonel Innocent Azubike stated that the protest aims to enforce the constitutional pension rights of military veterans.
According to Col. Azubike, President Bola Tinubu approved a pay increase for active military personnel in November 2025, which constitutionally requires a corresponding upward adjustment for pensioners. However, despite public acknowledgments and initial assurances from military leadership, retirees claim the adjustment remains unpaid.
“In November last year, the President approved a new pay increase for the military, and it came with a consequential adjustment for retirees and pensioners,” Azubike said. “High military authorities repeatedly thanked the President for the gesture, but implementation stalled, and official explanations began to shift.”
The retirees also raised concerns regarding a second salary increase announced for active personnel in August 2026, set to take effect in September. Retired military representatives allege that while funding computations were prepared for serving officers, pensioners were explicitly omitted from the consequential adjustments.
Col. Azubike warned that excluding current pensioners creates severe disparities among officers of equal rank and length of service who retired under different pay scales, leaving earlier retirees with significantly lower pension payouts compared to newly retired personnel.
The retirees emphasized that while they support pay raises for active military personnel, they are calling on relevant authorities to ensure pensioners receive their corresponding adjustments in line with established policy.
